Monthly Archives: September 2013

the parking lot we’ve been so lucky to share with the double play bar and grill for the past three years is officially out of commission – in its place, a new residential building is being built.

for now, our best alternatives are street parking and public transit. by sf standards, street parking around sS is relatively easy, but you may want to allot a few more minutes to find parking on your way in. taking the BART to 16th street mission and walking east on 16th street is also an option — the walk from the BART is a little under 10 minutes. there are also several muni buses that drop off right in front of sS.

if you’re feeling like a rebel, you could also try parking in the potrero center parking lot kitty corner from us (at your own risk). there’s usually ample parking, especially in the underground section of the parking lot, but beware, they do occasionally ticket, so know you’re running the risk of being fined or even towed.

we’re working on finding a more permanent parking solution, and we’ll let you know when we come up with something. in the meantime, we hope losing the lot won’t be too inconvenient for everyone.

it happens: we travel and forget to pack hydrating cream or our container leaks (explodes) all over our suitcase; we wait just a little too long to re-up on our charcoal cleanser and, of course, the day we run out we can’t make it to sS; we leave our products at a friend’s house or on the BART or whoknowswhere. when we’re suddenly left stranded without our tried and true sS products, and forced to find a drugstore solution, what are we to do? is anything safe (or at least safe enough to get through a few days)?

luckily, there are few drugstore bandaids out there that, at least on paper, look safe. we’ve combed through countless ingredients lists, and have found a few rare products that pass the sS test. (keep in mind though, none of these products have gone through sS’s rigorous 6-month test phase, so we can’t be totally sure how your skin will react.)

while we checked a lot of products, this list is not exhaustive; you can always put on your skin-savvy detective hat, whip out your list of comedogenic ingredients, and get to reading if you want to check out other products. if you find anything that looks safe, let us know!

we’ve included the ingredients that were published for each product at the time of this post, but remember: formulations change, so always double-check the ingredients before you let it touch your skin. also, while you may notice that nearly all the products are neutrogena, this doesn’t mean all neutrogena products are safe!

we have highlighted any questionable and potentially comedogenic ingredients in bold in the ingredient lists below. most of these are 1’s and 2’s on the comedogenicity scale. this scale goes from 0-5 (zero being safe and 5 being extremely cloggy even in non-acne prone folks). most acne prone people can tolerate some 1’s and 2’s in small amounts short term.

so, just to be clear:

we haven’t tested these products, so we cannot guarantee they will not clog. these are meant to be temporary options when you are unable to use your sS-approved products.

formulations change, so cloggers can and do get added to formerly benign-seeming products – so always beware!

these products shouldn’t make your acne worse, but none of them are “active” products, so they won’t actively work towards clearing your skin.

that said, if you’re in a pinch, these products are the best we’ve found in drugstores:

CLEANSERS

neutrogena rapid clear oil-eliminating foaming cleanser: if you’re on the oilier side, and find yourself without your sS cleanser, this product should be your go-to. as with the deep clean facial cleanser, though, it may be more drying than you are used to, so using moisturizer is extra important.

neutrogena acne proofing whipped foam cleanser: this cleanser contains salicylic acid which is an ingredient that should be avoided during pregnancy. if you are pregnant you should choose another cleanser from this list. also because salicylic acid is an active ingredient it can be drying or irritating to sensitive skins.

neutrogena naturals fresh cleansing and makeup remover, like all neutrogena naturals productsis free of sulfates, paraben, petrolatum, dyes and phthalates. this product cleanses and removes make up all in one step and it’s gentle on the sensitive eye area.

MOISTURIZERS & SPF

neutrogena oil-free moisture with spf 15: this day cream will work best on oilier skins. if you’re used to using tizo or sS’s safeguard day cream though, be aware of your sun exposure since this has a lower spf.

simple water boost hydrating booster is touted to help dehydrated or dry skin.
the formula is lightweight, and supposedly long lasting. the product directions say to apply a layer before your regular moisturizer. this might be beneficial for dry skin using a drying moisturizer like the oil free neutrogena one.

neutrogena healthy skin face lotion with sunscreen spf 15: a day cream for drier or aging skins. same word of warning as its oil-free compatriot: be careful with the sun, especially if you’re used to a higher spf.

neutrogena oil-free moisture – combination skin: a night cream that will do in a pinch for most acneic skin types. if your skin is on the drier side, you really want to make sure to get back to using your sS cream asap, to keep your skin hydrated and healthy.

derma e natural mineral sunscreen broad spectrum SPF 30 oil-free face: it’s tough to find natural sunscreens that aren’t loaded with cloggy ingredients. this one looks good but should only be used in an emergency since we can’t fully vouch for it’s acne safety-ness .

aveeno baby continuous protection sensitive skin lotion spf 50: this product has a high amount of dimethicone which is an ingredient that you should AVOID if your skin is extremely acne-prone; most acne-prone skins can tolerate this ingredient which is most commonly found in physical block SPF’s and makeup primers, but those very sensitive will break out. this would be something that would be best on the body rather than the face.

neutrogena pure & free baby sunscreen spf 50: this is another one with lots of dimethicone so same thing applies here as to the one above. this would be something that would be best on the body rather than the face.

cerave sunscreen face lotion spf 50: we have found that many products from this brand are super cloggy but this one looks like it would be ok short term. this is a brand that many dermatologists tend to recommend for their acne patients. unfortunately, t

neutrogena clear face liquid lotion sunscreen for acne-prone skin, broad spectrum spf 30: if your skin tends to be on the dry side this spf may be too drying to wear alone. you can apply a layer of your acne safe moisturizer under this spf to protect your skin’s moisture level.

EMERGENCY SPOT CAMOUFLAGE

almay smart shade concealer: we know it’s going to be tempting to abuse this, but this really should only be for emergency coverage. mineral makeup is always best, and with an ingredient list as long as this has, you really have to be careful. that said, if a something pops up and you really need a quick cover-up solution from the drugstore, this appears to be safe.